By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Putting on an offensive clinic in the first half shaped a separation of 21 points, but Partizan Mozzart Bet dealt with major issues before eventually securing the win, 96-85, against archrival Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Thursday.
Winning Game 5 and the best-of-five series, the team coached by legendary Zeljko Obradovic was crowned AdmiralBet ABA League champions.
Paving the way in the deciding contest to earn the Finals MVP award attached to his side’s first title in the regional league since 2013, Kevin Punter pouring 32 points finished the 2022-23 season with a new personal best. The Bronx native connected 11/17 from the field, including 3/6 three-pointers. Dropping ten points in the third quarter kept a safe distance through the start of the comeback bid.
Coming in with a 5-4 edge in this season’s head-to-head, the team guided by Dusko Ivanovic went on to reduce the deficit to four points in the fourth period but fell short of the lead, belonging to Partizan from start to finish.
Zach LeDay threw in 15 points and James Nunnally had 12 points for the championship-clinching victory. Mathias Lessort and Dante Exum added ten points apiece. Ioannis Papapetrou (shoulder) remained on the injury list.
Determined to keep his side in the battle for as long as possible, Ognjen Dobric logged 11 of his team-high 18 points in the middle quarters. Ben Bentil followed with 15 points, Nemanja Nedovic finished with 12 points, and Facundo Campazzo registered ten points. Miroslav Raduljica, Nikola Ivanovic, Ognjen Kuzmic, and Dalibor Ilic did not dress.
Record-breaking crowd
The attendance announced at 22,198 spectators in Stark Arena was an ABA League record.
22.198 spectators in the last game of the @ABA_League Finals!!!
A new record, of course, and probably the best ever attendance for a domestic league in Europe pic.twitter.com/L3TmJ9SGvD
— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) June 22, 2023
Highlighting the list of special guests, Bogdan Bogdanovic, currently a member of the Atlanta Hawks, enjoyed the first club of his professional career capturing the seventh ABA championship in team history. Partizan actually broke a tie between the Belgrade rivals sharing a league-high six titles going into deciding Game 5.
The new ABA champions enjoyed another big-time achievement earlier in the season reaching the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs. On the opposite end, Zvezda settled with winning both domestic competitions, the AdmiralBet Basketball League of Serbia and Triglav osiguranje Radivoj Korac Cup.
Photo Credit: ABA Liga